Phantom Rouge: The Doll's smile
by Phantom-Shalnark
Summary: Alternate ending for Phantom Rouge movie, SPOILERS! After everything that's happened, Killua decides that he must speak out agianst the Spider, thinking he knows the consequence. What if he was wrong? What if they didn't spill blood, but tears? And if Gon can see Restu after that eventful night, is there hope for her - and his - happiness? T for safety, Please R&R!


"Too easy," Phinks mumbled to himself as he kicked away the vanishing form of a fake Nobunaga. He turned to the real Nobunaga standing behind him, who had just destroyed a fake Franklin. "Did they really need our help?"

Killua couldn't believe it. It had all gone by too fast. He looked around at the burnt mansion surrounding him, Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, Hisoka and most of the Phantom Troupe members. What had been a fight with the traitorous number 4 of the Spider, Omakage, had ended with the puppet version of his little sister, Retsu, killing him and burning away, along with his body and the building.

What made things worse was the fact that they had been saved from the fake Phantom troupe Omakage had wielded...by the real Phantom Troupe. Now that the fakes were history, what were they going to do against the real ones?

He had bigger problems of his own, though. He could have saved Retsu, but he didn't. He could have helped Gon when the puppet Illumi had stolen his eyes, but he didn't. He could have killed Omakage...but he didn't.

The entire time, from first waking up from his nightmare with Illumi, to where he was now, he had been useless. It had all been Gon's power, Leorio's advice, and Kurapika's judgement. Even Hisoka and Retsu had done more than him.

"Killua," He looked over at Gon, who was sternly staring at him. "This isn't your fault. You did your best." Killua looked away. "You know that isn't true, Gon." He glanced over at Kurapika and Leorio, but neither of them noticed his presence.

Kurapika was sitting on the ground, tired from the fight, his full attention on the Phantom Troupe. Leorio was standing beside him, ready to take anyone down. Hisoka was behind all of them, and Killua could feel him staring at their backs.

"Why are you here?!" Kurapika yelled at them. "Why did you help us?!" Phinks smirked. "You thought we were helping YOU? You really are full of yourselves, you know that?" Leorio growled at them, but Nobunaga spoke up.

"Enough, Phinks." He glared at Leorio and Kurapika. "If you think we're stupid enough to kill you all while Danchou still has the _nen_ chain on his heart, then you're not nearly as intelligent as we made you out to be."

Killua glared at them. They knew nothing of what had happened, yet they act as if they'd been there the entire time?! He clenched his fists, but Gon placed his hand on his shoulder. "Killua, let it go." He couldn't let it go, didn't Gon see that?!

"No!" He pushed Gon's hand away. He glared at him, and he could feel his anger rising, but at who, he wasn't sure. Himself? Gon?...Retsu? "I can't let it go, Gon!" He knew everyone was staring at him, but he didn't stop.

Gon glared right back at him. "Why not?" Killua shook his head. "We can't just pretend this never happened!" Gon nodded. "We won't, Killua!" Killua didn't believe it. "You're lying!" He gazed over at the Spider.

"You don't know what happened!" He closed his eyes shut. He couldn't cry in front of the enemy, he couldn't! And he wasn't running away! "You can't say anything!" Suddenly, he felt the sudden sting of his cheek.

He opened his eyes in shock, and raised his hand to feel the redness of where someone had just slapped him. He turned to see Gon, who's hand was still halfway in the air. "You've got it all wrong, Killua. We're backwards now."

Killua blinked a few times. "Wha-what?" Gon lowered his hand. "You're supposed to be the cool headed one, and I'm supposed to be the one making a fool of myself." He smiled. "If we get it backwards, nothing will make sense anymore."

Killua stood there for a moment. Gon was right. He had to keep a cool head. If he lost control, he could end up doing more damage then ever. "...Stupid enhancers." He smirked, and turned his head away, but stopped to notice something sparkling near where Retsu and Omakage had fallen.

Slowly, he made his way over to it as the Phantom Troupe were speaking. "We didn't come here to save you," Machi grumbled as she fixed her hair, "Omakage was a Spider. So, it was our duty as the Spider to get rid of him."

"You mean you take out members just like that?!" Leorio yelled out, which wasn't a surprise. "What about Hisoka?!" Hisoka chuckled, and Machi sighed. "He's not worth the trouble right now. We'll let Danchou deal with him when he comes back."

"If he comes back." Kurapika spoke up in a hoarse voice. Killua froze as chills ran down his spine, the air tense. He knew that Kurapika was mad now more than ever. He had just destroyed the puppet version of Pairo, a member of the Kurta clan – and Kurapika's closest friend.

Killua looked down to see the edge of a photograph in a metallic frame. Right beside it, he could just make out the contorted hand of Omakage, but he tried his best to ignore it. He crouched down and examined the picture closer.

It appeared to be a younger Omakage, wearing a green shirt and light base pants, his silver hair just reaching his shoulders. He was smiling, and was holding something – someone – in his arms, who was hugging a small polar bear stuffy.

"...Retsu?" Killua smiled. Retsu had died smiling, tears in her eyes. She had to have been crying in happiness of finding such a happy memory of her and Omakage together from when they were younger. Quickly, he picked the picture up...

and gasped. It was Omakage in the photograph, and he was holding a little child hugging a polar bear stuffy, but it wasn't Retsu...it was a little boy, with blonde hair, big eyes, and an even bigger smile. "...Oh..." Retsu hadn't died happy...she had died feeling betrayed.

"Killua?" Killua could hear Gon's voice, filled with concern. Slowly, he stood up, still holding the photo. Why did this have to be the last thing Retsu saw when she died? He turned, only to hear the strange sound of soft plush under foot.

He looked under his sneaker, and saw that he had been standing on the same polar bear toy from the photo, only now, it was missing an ear, and was covered in burn marks and dust. He picked it up, as well, and turned it over, to see an even scarier mark.

On the back of the bear's head, drawn in marker, a large Spider tattoo was faded, with the number "0" just visible. "Killua?" Killua quickly hid the two items behind his back as he walked over near Gon. "It's nothing."

"Um, excuse me," He and Gon turned to face the girl with the glasses and freaky vacuum from before...Shizuku, who was looking around at the other members. "Who exactly is Omakage?" Feitan sighed. "Doesn't matter. He dead now."

"I know he was a traitor," Gon spoke in a low voice, "But don't you have any good memories of him? Any at all?" Killua smiled. Still the same old Gon. The largest member, Franklin, shook his head. "There's nothing to remember."

Killua scanned the faces of the members, but stopped at the last one. He felt his _nen_ sharply increase in rage. Apparently, not all of the members were too happy forgetting Omakage. Standing beside Machi was who looked to be the youngest member, Shal, he remembered.

However, Shal, who seemed to be known for smiling, like he had been in his photo on the Hunter Website, was sad. In fact, he looked down right miserable...and exactly like the smiling boy from the photograph Killua was holding.

Killua couldn't believe it. Omakage had killed Retsu to create her puppet, joined the Spider, and completely replaced his own sister with one of the Spider members. He felt like choking the bear he was holding, but knew it wouldn't do him any good.

"Well, then, if we're finished here," Nobunaga straightened the katana at his side, and began to turn around, followed by the other members. Kurapika tried to stand and protest, but quickly fell back down, Leorio supporting him.

"Wait." Everyone stopped. Even Hisoka, who was walking the other way, turned around, probably wondering if the fun was over or not. Gon turned to Killua. "...Killua..." It was then that Killua realized that he was the one who had spoken up.

He looked around. What was he supposed to say? He hadn't meant to blurt anything out...or had he? His gaze rested on Shal, who was doing his best to put on a brave smile. Maybe Killua was the only one who knew it wasn't real.

"...You." He walked up to Shal, who was now looking down at him. Machi had her _nen_ strings ready behind her back, so Killua understood that he couldn't make any mistakes. Steadily, he took out the polar bear from behind his back.

Shal's eyes widened. Killua knew he recognized it, and he also knew that he wouldn't grab it, not in front of the other members. So, he also brought out the photograph. "Is this yours?" He had him. Shal stared at the photo, like he was trying to understand if it was real.

He had him. He knew the other members were probably wondering how he had a photo of Omakage and Shal together, but he didn't care. He had hurt the very person who had replaced Retsu, and she would be happy.

...No. No, she wouldn't. Killua felt a strange tug at the back of his mind. A memory. During the entire fight, Retsu hadn't tried to hurt the other members, she hadn't tried to break the spirit of the puppets. She wasn't that kind of person.

"...Here." He stuck the photograph out for Shal to take, but kept hold of the bear. "Omakage had a family. He had a sister...but she was forgotten the moment he joined the Spider...joined you." After a long moment of silence, Shal meekly took the photo.

Killua walked over and stood beside Gon, who was holding a thumbs up to him. Killua smiled. He had done the right thing. He looked over at the Phantom Troupe, who apparently wanted him to finish his emotional speech.

"...He might have been a traitor, but he was still a member." He glared at Feitan and Franklin. "So, yes, there is something to remember...a brother." Shal looked at him, then down at the photo. Killua knew his smile was real this time.

"That was nice, and all," Phinks said, "but if you're done ranting about some dead girlfriend of yours, then we're done here." He walked away, followed by the others. Killua heard Hisoka laughing behind him, vanishing into the shadows.

"Killua." Killua looked up to see Gon run over to Kurapika's side, who was standing and leaning against Leorio. Leorio smiled at him. "Nice." Killua smirked, and walked over. "Yeah, well..." suddenly, Kurapika yelped in surprise.

He turned and looked down to see something at his feet. Killua bent down and picked it up. It was a small, brown string of rope, with little red and blue beads on it. It was a necklace, one that had been fixed after being ripped.

"What's that?" Leorio looked over Killua's shoulder. "That's...Pairo's necklace." They spun around to see Kurapika gawking at the necklace. Killua handed it to him, and he took it in both hands, now standing on his own.

"Pairo wore it a lot," Kurapika smiled as he spoke, "It was his favourite necklace...because I had made it for him when we were little kids." He looked up. "Who threw it?" They all looked off into the distance, and Killua smiled.

They couldn't se it, he knew they couldn't. He had the best sight out of all of them. Far off into the distance, the same path that the Phantom Troupe had followed, Killua could just see Shal racing to catch up with the others.

"No one important." Killua shrugged. "Ah, well, now that you have it, they don't matter." Gon pouted. "You know, don't you?" Kurapika and Leorio smiled, but Gon frowned. "Come on, tell us!" Kurapika chuckled. "It's fine, Gon."

Gon shook his head. "So, I wanna know!" Killua stuck his tongue out at him. "Nope." He ran off, Gon chasing him. "Hey, no fair!" Killua dodged his feeble attempts to stop him from running, but stopped himself in front of where Retsu had died.

Gon bumped into him. "Oof!" He rubbed his forehead. "Why'd you stop?" Killua didn't hear him, though. He stared down at Omakage's dead body, covered in planks of burnt wood. He realized that he was still holding the polar bear toy.

Quickly, he ripped out the chunk of the bear head with the Spider tattoo on it. Carefully, he placed the bear toy on top of the body of Omakage. "Good night, Retsu." Gon smiled sadly at him, and Killua nodded. "Well, let's go!"

"Wait! You still haven't told me who threw the necklace! KILLUA!"

* * *

"Phinks, stop snoring!" Machi moaned in her sleep at Phinks, who simply shrugged her off as sleep talking, and continued to snore as loud as a chainsaw. The Troupe was still in the same hideout of Yorknew they had first met in, only now, it felt empty. With no Uvogin, Pakunoda, or Danchou, it felt like something was missing.

Nobunaga smirked. At least Phinks and Machi hadn't changed. Sure, they didn't get along at times, but they didn't hate each other. He was sitting where Kururo usually sat, above the rest of the members, where he could look down at them all.

Nobunaga chuckled quietly to himself. Suddenly, he caught sight of Shalnark, who wasn't asleep yet, but instead sitting with his back against a large wooden crate, hiding himself from the other sleeping members.

Nobunaga stood up and, placing his katana on the ground, jumped down and landed beside Shalnark, who didn't even notice him. Nobunaga went to jab him in the side for not getting to sleep, but stopped when he saw what Shalnark was holding.

It was the photo the silver haired kid, Killua, had given Shalnark at their last confrontation. In it, a newly recruited Omakage was holding a younger Shalnark, who was hugging the polar bear he used to carry around everywhere.

"...He won't be forgotten, you know." Shalnark gasped, and looked up, just noticing Nobunaga standing over him. "There's no way we could forget someone like Omakage." Shalnark snickered, but still didn't smile. He looked down, back at the photo.

"...I never did believe you guys, you know," Shalnark spoke softly, "When you said that Omakage was a traitor." Nobunaga sighed, and sat down beside Shalnark, leaning against the crate. "I know you didn't."

He looked at Shalnark, and felt a slight chill. Shalnark always had a shine in his eyes, since he was almost never sad. He had only ever cried a few times, and he was just a kid when he had. Smiling was his forte.

Now, his eyes were dull, and he had a grim expression on his face. Nobunaga knew why. He would always have the memory of when Omakage joined, etched into his memory;

"_Here we are." Nobunaga looked up to see Kururo walk up to him and the rest of the members. Behind him, a tall fellow wearing a black shirt and grey pants over dress shoes was carrying a brown sack over his shoulder._

"_Who's this?" Feitan, always the sceptical one. Kururo smiled. "I'd like you to meet Omakage. He's going to join us." Pakunoda smiled. "Oh, so he's the "puppet-master" you were talking about, then?" Kururo nodded his head._

_Omakage stepped forward. "Pleasure to meet you all. I've heard much about the Phantom Troupe." Uvogin grinned. "Good, and it better not be anything about us being nothing but showy pansies." Omakage chuckled. "Rest assured, I've heard nothing but horrifying things...which should be good for your reputation."_

_His eyes then rested on Shalnark. Shalnark had just joined, after his sixth birthday, when Kururo and Uvogin had found him. He curiously looked Omakage over, who was now on one knee, rummaging through his sack of belongings._

"_You didn't tell me you had a child in your group." Kururo frowned. "I didn't think it mattered." Omakage froze for just a second. Why hadn't he known that had meant something back then? He quickly regained his posture, and pulled out a pure white polar bear stuffy. _

"_On the contrary, having young blood can be quite an advantage in a growing group." Kururo smiled as Omakage held up the toy, so that everyone could see it wasn't ticking or ready to explode. He smiled at Shalnark. "You're not too old for toys, now, are you?"_

_Shalnark smiled and, giggling, jumped off the wooden box he had been sitting on, and ran over to Omakage. He took the bear and hugged it tightly. "Thank you, Oma-san." Omakage smiled at him. "Your very welcome."_

"I still miss him." Nobunaga was snapped out of his memory by Shalnark's voice. He looked over at him, and gasped. Shalnark's eyes were watery as he held the photo tightly. "...Shalnark..." Shalnark looked over at him.

"We're still the Spider, right?" He pulled his knees up to his chest. "Kurapika-san has killed Uvogin and Pakunoda, and sent Danchou away. Now, Omakage is dead, and Hisoka was a traitor, too." He choked back a sob. "We were supposed to never break apart."

He began to cry into his knees, hiding his face. Nobunaga was just about to comfort him, but Shalnark held his head up. "I was the one who killed Kurapika-san's best friend, Pairo." Nobunaga frowned. "How do you know that?"

Shalnark wiped his eyes with his wrist. "I was the one who killed all of the children at the Kurta Clan massacre. I remember Pairo, because he was the only one who fought back. He told me he was waiting for Kurapika, but I hadn't known what he meant. I...I also stole his necklace."

Nobunaga looked away. "That's what you threw at him, right?" Shalnark nodded, tears forming under his eyes. "Is this...is this my fault, Nobunaga?" He began to cry again. Nobunaga pulled him over, and Shalnark leaned against Nobunaga.

"It isn't your fault. You were just following orders." Shalnark continued to sob. Nobunaga wrapped his arm around Shalnark's shaky shoulders. "It was never your fault..." Nobunaga smiled at him. "Danchou will come back, and we'll fix this, okay?"

* * *

"What now?" Gon smiled. He and Killua had parted with Kurapika and Leorio before entering the town. He looked around. It was bustling with people, just like when he and Killua had met up with Retsu.

He glanced over at Killua, who was currently eating a cone of chocolate ice cream. The night before, Killua had actually lost his cool, but regained it through talking the Phantom Troupe down. Retsu would have been proud.

What was happening to the mansion they had destroyed was a total mystery. Apparently, it belonged to one of the store owners on the road they were travelling, and they were going to sell what they could find. "Gon!" Gon stopped behind Killua, who's ice cream fell off the cone as he gawked at a nearby window.

Gon looked up at the window. It was the window that belonged to the clothing store that they had bought Retsu her Lolita dress from. However, it appeared that Retsu truly loved the store – as she was standing in the window sill, smiling and holding her favourite puppet toy.

"Retsu?!" Gon tapped the window, but Retsu didn't reply, smiling in silence and staring at nothing. She was wearing the same Lolita dress as before. Killua smiled. "She looks happy now." Gon looked at him, and smiled, as well.

"The woman who owns the store must own the mansion, too. I guess she found Retsu, and thought she would make the perfect model for her clothing." Killua sighed. "Yeah. She is pretty enough for it..." Gon nodded. Then, he smirked.

"She's pretty enough, huh?" Killua blushed madly. "Uh, I mean, well, you know, she has pretty eyes, um, and she's got nice hair, and, uh..." He looked over at Gon, who was grinning. He stopped his rambling, still blushing.

"She was nice, okay?!" He threw his hands up in the air, and walked away, placing his hands in his pockets. Gon giggled. "Whatever you say." He ran to catch up, leaving Retsu and her doll to smile at everyone who walked by.


End file.
